Multi-feed wire package



June 17, 1969 w. J. DRAVING ETAL MULTI-FEED WIRE PACKAGE Sheet FiledSept. 20, 1967 INVENTORSI DRAVING OSEPH E. NERZ \jlALTER J.

ATTYS June 1969 w. J. DRAVING ETAL 3,450,359

MULTI-FEED WIRE PACKAGE F'i1 ed Sept. 20, 1967 Sheet 3 of 2 /z/ /z/ w/2/ /4/ m HZ u/ K M J I a2 w .M

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United States Patent U.S. Cl. 24254 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREA package for storing for use in a preset spacing, separate lengths ofsmall diameter wires which are to be used, for example, in threading orwiring a magnetic core memory plane. The package includes a spooladaptedto have wrapped thereon a plurality of separate wires axiallyspaced along the periphery of the spool. To retain the wires and thecorrect spacing thereof one from the other, a wire mounting block isprovided, the block including.a planar base portion having a pair oflaterally spaced, axially extending upstanding rail means, and meansdefining a plurality of laterally extending, axially spaced slots ineach of the rail means, the slots in the one rail being aligned with theslots in the opposite rail and adapted to receive the extended ends ofthe wire wrapped on the spool, therein. Also included is a cover whichoverlies the upstanding rail means to substantially enclose the uppersurface of the means defining a slot and including means on the coverfor engagement with the wires to press the same against the blockintermediate the upstanding rail means to prevent inadvertentdisplacement of the wires from the block.

Summary of the invention The present invention relates to a multi-feedwire package, and more specifically to a multi-feed wire package inwhich a plurality of separate wires is maintained in a preset andpredetermined relation, one wire with respect to the other.

In magnetic core memory type computers, a magnetic core located withrespect to other magnetic cores in a preset and predetermined positionis used to store data or information, the data being alpha or numeric orcombinations of each. Each magnetic core is a tiny ring of ferromagneticmaterial having a diameter of approximately .020 inch. Each core ispressed from a mixture of ferric oxide powder and other materials andthen baked in an oven. Cores of this type, besides being extremelysmall, have the advantage of being able to achieve a state of totalmagnetism within a very short period of time, i.e. a few microseconds orless. In addition, the cores, unless deliberately altered, retain theirinduced magnetism indefinitely making it an ideal means for storingdata.

The cores are arranged in a fiat plane in aligned rows, each core beingset at a position of approximately 45 with respect to the intersectionof the axis of the rows. The cores, in order to attain the desiredstorage data therein, and data output from the plane, are provided withwires which pass through each core in a row. At right angles to thefirst group of wires, a second wire is passed so that each ring containsan intersection of two wires. Thus by sending half of the amount ofcurrent necessary to magnetize a core through each wire, only the corecircumscribing the intersection of the wires is magnetized. In thismanner, numerous cores can be strung on the screen or grid of wires andmagnetized without affecting any other core. Additional wires are usedand threaded through the cores for selecting (sense wire) informationfrom the plane and for resetting (inhibit wire) cores to their originalstate so that the memory is not altered.

3,450,359 Patented June 17, 1969 Because of the small diameter of thecores, very fine wires are used in making up the memory plane. Inaddition, prior to a few years ago each of the memory planes was handwired and with planes containing rows of 128 cores per row in a square,the price of a wired memory plane was extremely high. Ultimately awiring jig was developed in which the wires are exactly positioned sothat they enter the memory cores at a precise and defined lateralseparation corresponding to the separation between rows of the cores. Inthis manner the time for wiring one such memory plane is reduceddrastically. However, a problem has developed wherein the jig must behand wired from a plurality of spools having separate wires wrappedthereon. To setup the jig for one such wiring operation, i.e. to runWires through a plurality of rows at the same time, requires 5 to 10minutes, depending on the number of cores and thus the number of wireswhich must be run.

In view of the above it is a principal object of the present inventionto provide a wire package which permits the storage of a plurality ofwires spaced one from the other in an exact position to enablesimultaneous placement of the wires in a wiring jig and the likeapparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel multi-feedwire package which is inexpensive to manufacture and which may bereused.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a multi-feedwire package which is simple to load for shipment.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a multi-feedwire package composed of a material which preserves the insulation onthe wires.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had byreferring to the following specification and claims taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspctive view of the package of the present inventionillustrating a novel package containing a plurality of separate wireslaterally spaced one from the other;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along line 3-3 ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the packageillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2; and

FIGS. 5-10 illustrate the steps of loading the wire package of thepresent invention with separate wire strands.

Referring now to the drawings, and especially FIG. 1 thereof, amulti-feed wire package 10 containing a plurality of small diameterwires 11 is shown therein.

In accordance with the invention, in order to permit accurate placementand dispensing of the separate wires 11 in an exact and predeterminedpreset relation to one another, wire storage means, in the presentinstance a spool 15, contains a plurality of the wires 11 wrappedthereon, which wires are axially spaced from one another, the extendedends 12 of the wires passing through a wire mounting block 20 whichmaintains the wire ends 12 extending from the spool, in thepredetermined preset relation. To this end, the spool 15 has an easilydeformable surface, in the present instance being composed preferably ofan easily deformable substance such as Styrofoam so that upon wrappingindividual strands of Wire 11 around the periphery thereof, the strandswill tend to deform the periphery such as shown in FIG. 3, and formtheir own groove. The method of wrapping the wires around the spool 15in order to separate the wires a preset distance along the axis of thespool will be explained in more detail hereinafter. The extended ends 12of the wires 11, as set forth above, pass through and are held inposition by the wire mounting block 20 which is adapted for parallelalignment with the axis of the spool. As shown, the wire mounting blockincludes wire receiving means 21 which serves to maintain the alignmentof the wires at a preset distance apart, and cover means 30 which servesto prevent both accidental disengagement of the wire ends 12 from thewire receiving means 21, and to provide a firm engagement of the wireends 12 extending from the spool 15, when desired.

To this end the wire receiving means 21 includes a substantially planarbase portion 22 having a pair of laterally spaced upstanding wall orrail means 23, designated 23a and 23b respectively and defining a grooveor depression 24 therebetween. As best shown in FIG. 4, each of therails 23 includes means defining a plurality of laterally extending,axially spaced slots 25, the slots in the rail 23a being laterallyaligned with the slots in the rail 23b. As shown, the slots extend downto the upper surface of the depression 24, and in practice they shouldhave a width, in the direction parallel with the longitudinal axisthereof, a few thousandths larger than the diameter of the wire to beplaced therein. For ease in manufacture as well as for economic reasons,the wire receiving means may be composed of an easily deformablematerial such as Styrofoam, although any material which will not abraidor remove the coated insulation on the wire therefrom as it passestherethrough is acceptable. It has been found that Styrofoam is anexcellent material for use as the wire receiving means as it does nottend to remove any of the insulation from the wires.

In order to add stability to the wire receiving means 21, while at thesame time stabilizing and strengthening the wire mounting block, astiifener plate 27 is attached to the lower portion of the base 22, inthe present instance the stiffener comprising an aluminum plate.

As heretofore set forth, in order to prevent inadvertent dislodgement ofthe wire ends 12 from the slots 25, and in order to provide means forfixedly positioning and engaging the wires when desired, cover means 30including wire engagement means 31 are provided for coaction with thewire receiving means 21. To this end, the engagement means includes atleast one axially extending, depending, wire engaging portion 32 whichcooperates with the depression or recess 24 and is capable of firmengagement of the wire ends 12 intermediate the portion 32 and theplanar surface 24a of the recess 24. As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, thecover means 30 also includes rail cover portions 33 and 34, in thepresent instance recesses, adapted to overlie the upper surface of therails 23a and 23b to enclose at least the upper surface of the slots 25.To ease any stresses in the wire at the portion of the terminal ends 12thereof, at the wire mounting block 20, the cover means 30 also includesa pair of depending, axially extending legs 35 and 36 at the lateralextremities of the cover. As best shown in FIG. 2, the legs embrace thelateral extremities or exterior vertical surface associated with themeans defining the slots 25 and in this manner afford protection for theslots, while depending a sufficient distance to overlie the wire ends 12without kinking the same at the point of entry of the wire into theslots of the rail 23b or at the point of egress of the wires from therail 23a.

In a like manner to the wire receiving means 21, it is preferable thatat least the wire engaging portion 31 of the cover be composed of aneasily deformable material which will not abraid or tend to remove theinsulation from the exterior of the wires when it engages the same. Forease of manufacture, it has been found economic to use a material suchas Styrofoam for the entire cover means 30, the Styrofoam havingsufficient friction to permit a tight gripping of the wires 12, whendesired, while insuring the preservation or retention of the insulationon the surface of the wires.

Similar to the wire receiving means 21, in order to stabilize andstrengthen the cover means, a stiffener, in

the present instance an aluminum plate 37 is attached to the uppersurface of the cover means 30.

In order to permit easy passage of the wire 11 through the wire mountingblock 20 when desired, in order to permit retention of the wires whendesired, clamping means 40 are provided to provide pressure between thecover means 30 and the wire receiving means 21 as desired. To this end,the clamping means may comprise auxiliary C-type clamps or clamps of anyform desired. However, a simple clamp is shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 andcomprises upstanding recesses 22a and 22b which are vertically alignedand located at opposite ends of the wire mounting block 20 to provide apassageway for bolts 41 which pass through the recesses at the oppositeends of the block and through the stiffener plate 37. Utilizing wingnuts 42 on the terminal ends of the bolts 41 provides suflicient controlover the clamping pressure to permit wire to pass through the mountingblock or to be held therein.

As shown in FIG. 4, the slots 25, if the wire package is to be used forwires to be placed in jigs for wiring memory planes, should be ofuniform spacing, anywhere from 20 to 30 thousandths or more of an inchapart. Of course there are numerous methods of forming the slots 25, butone of the easier methods is to form a continuous loop or coil ofNichrome wire, the coils of which are preset to the correct lateralspacing in the axial direction of the block, and while pressing aportion of the coil onto the wire receiving means, a current is passedthrough the Nichrome wire causing a melting of the Styrofoam. Anothermethod, utilizing the same principle is to provide a wire grid of theproper lateral spacing relative to the longitudinal axis of the block,pressing the wire onto the rails 23 and then passing a current throughthe wire allowing the Styrofoam to melt until the desired depth of slotis achieved. Either of these methods produces the desired configurationin a very short time.

The manner in which the spool 15 and wire mounting block 20 is loadedwith a plurality of wires 11 is illustrated in FIGS. 5-10. To this end,a plurality of spools carrying the desired wire size are positioned on ashaft (not shown), and the wire ends are fed into a wire mounting blockcorresponding to the wire mounting block 20 heretofore described. Ofcourse the initial passing of the wires into the slots is accomplishedby hand. A second wire mounting block is positioned to hold the terminalends of the wire 111 and is spaced from the first form mounting block120 along the axis of the wires 111. The wire mounting blocks 120 and130 are then tightly clamped as by their clamping means 121 and 131,identical to the clamping means 40 heretofore described.

A piece of tape 132 is then positioned transversely of the wires 111,underlying the same and in contact therewith while being spaced from butadjacent to the second wire mounting block 130. Thereafter twoadditional wire mounting blocks and are positioned intermediate the tape132 and the first wire mounting block 120, and a spool 115, similar tothe spool 15 heretofore described, is carefully positioned so that itsaxis is substantially parallel to the tape 132, overlying the same andin contact along its periphery with the portion of the wires 111 incontact with the tape. The tape is secured as at 133 to the spool 115and the wires 111 are cut intermediate the spool and the second wiremounting block 130 by shears or the like 134. The clamping means 141,151 associated with the third and fourth wire mounting blocks 140 and150 respectively is loosened as well as the clamping means 121associated with the first wire mounting blocks 120, 140, and 150 arethen held in position by any convenient means such as a jig or fixtureand a suitable length of wire is wound upon the spool -115 by rotationthereof and pulling of the Wire 111 through the three wire mountingblocks 120, 140, and 150. (See FIG. 8.)

Upon a suitable length of wire being wrapped upon the spool 115, thewire 111 is once again severed as by the shears 135 positionedintermediate the third and fourth wire mounting blocks 140 and 150.Thereafter the clamping means 151 associated with the wire mountingblock 150 is tightened and the package is boxed for shipment. The setupfor the next package is fairly simple and may be easily observed inFIGS. 9 and 10. All that is necessary is to tighten the clamping means141 associated with the wire mounting block 140 and move this block andthe wire 111 clamped therein to the right as shown in FIG. drawing asuitable amount of wire through the wire mounting block 120. Theoperation may then be repeated for making a new wire package.

It should be recognized that in certain instances the wire mountingblock may be used as a jig for wiring memory planes and may be used withvarious preset and predetermined slot arrangements to provide a setupfor wiring, for example, spaced contact points along slide-in modules orprinted circuit boards and the like.

Thus the wire package of the present invention while being specificallydesigned to meet the requirements of the computer industry, i.e. for usein providing even and exact spaced wires for memory plane wiring jigs,is versatile and may be utilized in conjunction with other apparatus.

What is claimed is:

1. A multi-feed wire package comprising in combination: wire storagemeans adapted to receive a plurality of separate wires; a wire mountingblock adapted for alignment transverse to the ends of wires extendingfrom the wire storage means, said wire mounting block having wirereceiving means therein including means defining a plurality oflaterally extending, axially spaced slots for receiving wires from saidwire storage means; cover means overlying said wire receiving means,superposed the upper surface of said means defining said slots; at leastone of said wire receiving means and said cover means having wireengagement means for cooperative engagement with said other means andwith said wi'res when said wires are positioned in said receiving means.

2. A multi-feed wire package in accordance with claim 1 wherein saidwire storage means comprises a spool for receiving separate wire strandsabout the periphery thereof; at least the surface of said spool whichreceives wires being composed of an easily deformable substance.

3. A multi-feed wire package in accordance with claim 1 wherein saidwire receiving means includes a substantially planar base portion havingat least one upstanding rail means, said slots extending through saidrail means.

4. A multi-feed wire package in accordance with claim 1 wherein saidwire receiving means includes a substantially planar base portion havinga pair of laterally spaced, upstanding rail means defining an axiallyextending depression therebetween, each of said rail means having saidaxially spaced slots therein, the slots of one rail means beinglaterally aligned with the slots of the other rail means.

'5. A multi-feed wire package in accordance with claim 4 wherein saidwire engagement means depends from said cover means, said engagementmeans including at least one axially extending, depending, wire engagingportion adapted for cooperation with said depression, and having aheight suificient for firm engagement with the upper surface of saiddepression intermediate said rails.

6. A multi-feed wire package in accordance with claim 5 wherein saidcover means includes rail cover portions positioned on opposite sides ofsaid wire engaging portion and substantially coextensive therewith.

7. A multi-feed wire package in accordance with claim 6 including a pairof depending, axially extending legs positioned outboard of said railcover portions so as to cooperate with said rails and to overlie thelateral extremities thereof.

8. A multi-feed wire package in accordance with claim 1 wherein at leastthe surfaces of said wire mounting block which come into contact withsaid wires are composed of an easily deformable, non-abrasive material.

9. A mounting block adapted for the receipt and alignment in apredetermined, preset position, of a plurality of wires; said mountingblock comprising wire receiving means having at least one laterallyextending surface and including at least a first upstanding rail meanshaving a plurality of laterally extending axially spaced slots thereinfor receiving wires in a predetermined, preset position; cover meansoverlying at least said upstanding rail means, said cover meansincluding a depending wire engagement means for cooperative engagementwith said laterally extending surface of said wire receiving means whenwire is in said slots to press said wire onto said surface to prevent,as desired, inadvertent movement of said wires through said slots.

10. A mounting block in accordance with claim -9 including a secondupstanding rail means laterally spaced from said first upstanding railmeans and defining therewith an axially extending depressiontherebetween, said second rail means having axially spaced, wirereceiving slots therein, the slots of one rail means being laterallyaligned with the slots of the other rail means.

11. A mounting block in accordance with claim 10 wherein said wireengagement means depends from said cover means, said engagement meansincluding at least one axially extending, depending, wire engagingportion adapted for cooperation with said depression, and having aheight suflicient for firm engagement with the upper surface of saiddepression intermediate said rail means.

12. A mounting block in accordance with claim 11 wherein said covermeans includes rail cover portions positioned on opposite sides of saidwire engaging portion and substantially coextensive therewith.

13. A mounting block in accordance with claim 12 including a pair ofdepending, axially extending legs positioned outboard of said rail coverportions so as to cooperate with said rail means and to overlie thelateral extremities thereof.

14. A mounting block in accordance with claim 9 wherein at least thesurfaces of said wire mounting block which come into contact with saidwires are composed of an easily deformable, non-abrasive material.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 390,617 10/1888 Richardson242-149 1,833,588 11/1931 Pierce 242-154 3,215,965 11/1965 Subik242-125.2 X

FOREIGN PATENTS 681,169 10/ 1952 Great Britain.

WILLIAM S. BURDEN, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 242-149

